Originally Posted by
Trudat
How many of y'all would take a 26" hardtail out there? Be honest. Is it:
A) Ok if you're young
B) Not such a good idea but do-able
C) Hell no!
I'd say mostly B. "Good idea" is in the eye of the beholder. These trails have been ridden for years and years, way before dual crown 8" suspension forks and gravity dropper seatposts. So, ya it's all do-able on a 26" hardtail.
I won't say that you wouldn't have as much fun as the dudes on 5-6" bikes because "fun" is extremely subjective. In the video above, it's gonna be a bit difficult to hold those kind of speeds and lines on a 26" hardtail.
If you're a speed/drop/blow-thru-fast-technical-chunk junkie then you may not enjoy yourself as much on a 26" hardtail.
Doesn't mean you won't be having fun, you just won't be going as fast.
No matter what bike you ride it's gonna be rough.
Me? I dream of a 5" or 6" 29er, full suspension, slack head angle (burro is STUPID steep), 2x10 setup (maybe even 1x10 on TWE), dropper seat post, burly rims with wide 'n beefy rubber...
My Ells Evolve (4" 29er full sus) showed it's limitations on that trail. Due the steep head angle (71deg) the bike was twitchy on the steep, techy downs. Definitely not confidence inspiring in those sections of trail. Does that mean it sucked and I didn't have fun? Hell no! I had a friggin' blast! But, I had difficulty holding the lines and speeds the dudes on the bigger bikes were taking.
Besides, if you have never been out there it's likely during your first ride you'll be stopping every 5 minutes to soak everything in anyway - so what's the point in going so damn fast?
Last edited by jimithng23; 02-11-2012 at 04:40 PM.
"ya, well...that's like...your...opinion. man."
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